• A comprehensive manual prepared by Canadian experts in early childhood education, early intervention, child development, and family support.
• Evidence based strategies for centre based interventions.
• References to additional information and resources.
• Diverse learning formats including group work, expert presentation, video analysis, case studies and professionally designed simulations.
• Customized to reflect provincial programs and structures by IKF Training Specialist and experts.
• Delivered by a blend of Invest in Kids Foundation and provincially-based experts.

• To raise the level of knowledge and skills of professionals who work with high-risk families with young children in a child care setting.
• Affirm the valuable role of the early childhood educator in the lives of families.
• Enhance the competency of professionals in collaborating, gaining access to resources, and working in an interdisciplinary way to benefit families.
• Facilitate the integration of new insights, knowledge, and skills in participants' own practice of identifying, reaching, engaging, and building effective relationships with high-risk families.

A GUIDE TO WORKING WITH VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS

1. Setting the Context
   Focus:
   • An introduction to the manual and the format
   • A focus on children living in circumstances of risk
   • Care, Education or Intervention – Or all Three?
   • How Early Childhood Professional’s (ECP) work with children, parents, and other professionals



2. Caring for Ourselves
   Focus:
   • Understanding the role in caring for ourselves
   • Defining self care
   • Identifying personal, professional and organizational stress factors
   • Professional stressors specific to families living in circumstances of risk
   • Organizational strategies to minimize stress factors
   • Develop a plan for self care and professional development



3. Assessing Risk & Protective Factors
   Focus:
   • ECP’s role in assessing risk and protective factors
   • Review of research about risk and protective factors
   • Factors directly affecting development in the early years
   • Implications for practice



4. Healthy Child Development
   Focus:
   • Roles and responsibilities of the ECP in healthy child development
   • Understanding facts about healthy child development
   • Topics covering areas such as, brain development, emotional development, cognitive development, social development
   • Promoting healthy development through everyday activities: Comfort, Play & Teach



5. Challenging Behaviours
   Focus:
   • Roles and responsibilities of the ECP in managing challenging behaviour
   • Developmental stages of behavioural growth and their characteristic challenges
   • Definitions and causes of challenging behaviours
   • Different categories of emotional dysfunction
   • Specific practice techniques



6. Diversity
   Focus:
   • Roles and responsibilities of the ECP in teaching and understanding diversity
   • Personal values and beliefs and how they affect perceptions and learning about the diversity of family functioning
   • Implications for practice



7. Observation, Screening & Assessment
   Focus:
   • Roles and responsibilities of ECPs in observation, screening and assessment
   • Principles of observation, screening and assessment
   • How information from observation, screening and assessment help to respond to a child’s development
   • Strategies for use of the results from the observation, screening and assessment tools



8. Interdisciplinary Practice
   Focus:
   • Roles and responsibilities of the ECP in interdisciplinary practice
   • Benefits of collaboration for the family and the service provider
   • Principles and goals of interdisciplinary practice
   • Aspects of interdisciplinary meetings and conferences
   • Factors that enable and pose challenges to interdisciplinary practice



9. Engaging Parents
   Focus:
   • Roles and responsibilities of the ECP in understanding and engaging families
   • Strategies to engage families
   • Relationship building skills
   • Knowledge, skills and personal qualities necessary for engaging families living in circumstances of risk



10. Interventions & Family Support Strategies
    Focus:
    • ECP’s role in supporting and intervening with families
    • Framework, focus, essential principles and guidelines for interventions with families
    • Intervention strategies for families living in circumstances of risk



11. Teen Parenting
    Focus:
    • Interacting with teen parents and their families
    • Factors that may affect teens who are pregnant and/or parenting
    • Strategies to engage the young parent
    • Strategies for strengthening the adolescent’s parenting competencies



12. Family Violence & the Young Child
    Focus:
    • Roles and responsibilities of the ECP when family violence is discovered in the program
    • Defining family violence
    • The effects of family violence on child development
    • Identifying the focus of intervention and intervention approaches to help children and parents living with family violence
    • Developing a Safety Plan to assist and protect victims of family violence